Web guiding and stretching mechanism



May 1, 1945. I p, COOK 2,374,980

WEB GUIDING AND STRETCHING MECHANISM I Fil ed A ri 28, 1942 4 sheets-sneak 1 Fig.1.

May 1, 1945. P. co oK WEB GUIDING AND STRETCHIIiG MECHANISM Fi ed April' 28, 1942 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 Inveniozz' 0007:. I

May 1, 1945. P. cooK WEB GUIDING AND ST RETCHING MECHANISM 4 Sheets- Sh eet 3 Filed April 28, 1942 Inveni rx leroy 00 072,. f

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May 1, 1945. PQcooK I WEB GUIDING AND STRETCHING MECHANISM Filed Apr i; 28, 1942 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 Invenibz": O

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Patented May 1, 1945 WEB GUIDING AND STRETCHING MECHANISM Percy Cook, Waltham, Mass Application April 28, 1942, Serial No. 440,787

18 Claims.

This invention relates to the longitudinal tensioning and the lateral stretching of a longitudinally travelling web of cloth by means of selvage-engaging, cloth-controlled rolls whose action is changed in some way to regulate the lateral position of the cloth. In machines of this class, the stretching or spreading is accomplished in various ways, such as by the use of angularly disposed rolls whose angularity furnishes the stretching action. Heretofore the action of the rolls has been regulated in various ways, such as (1) by change of angularity with relation to the selvages or (2) by arranging the rolls to nip the cloth between them and by varying the pressure between them, or (3) by providing rolls whose surfaces are in part rough and in part smooth,-change of engagement from one to the other varying the effect upon the cloth.

The present invention is concerned with a novel arrangement in which the rolls of each set do not nip the fabric, in which they are arranged for movement to take up longitudinal slack in the web, and in which regulation of the lateral position of the web is accomplished by opposing a frictional resistance to the rotation of one roll or another under the control of detectors cooperating with the respective edges of the web. The frictional resistance is furnished by a brake such as a self-energizing brake which has great power as well as rapidity of action. The surfaces of the rolls are of uniform character throughout their peripheries and can be stopped at any point in the periphery in contact with the.web, thus stopping the web more promptly than in arrangements where the roll is partly rough and partly smooth and the smooth part must be reached before stoppage can take place.

The invention will best be understood by reference to the following description when taken in connection with the accompanying drawings of two embodiments thereof, while its scope will be pointed out more particularly in the appended claims.

In the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a front elevation illustrating a travelling web and mechanism including two pairs of rolls arranged to stretch the web laterally and to tension the same longitudinally.

Figs. 2 and 3 are views illustrating the longi tudinal take-up feature of the machine;

Fig. 4 is a plan partly in horizontal section of a portion of the left-hand stretching mechanism,

of the machine;

Fig. 5 is a front elevation partly in vertical section of the left-hand stretching mechanism;

Fig. 6 is an end elevation viewed from the lefthand side of Fig. 5; i i

Fig. 7 is an end elevation viewed from the right-hand end of Fig. 5; r

Fig. 8 is a sectional view on line 8-8 ofFig. 5 looking in the direction of the arrows thereon;

Fig. 9 is a front elevation of a modification;

Fig. 10 is a right-hand elevation of the modification; and 1 Fig. 11 is a plan of the modification.

Referring to the drawings and to the embodiments of the invention illustrated therein by wayof example, and having reference at first to Fig. 1, there is shown a web I! of cloth travelling vertically in a downward direction as it would from a detwis'ting machine such as that which is the subject matter of U. S. Patent No. 2,248,962, issued to me July 15, 1941. i The machine of that 1 patent takes the twist out of a web of fabric which has been dyed, and the present machine stretches the web laterally as it comes from the detwisting machine.

The stretching is accomplished by two sets of rolls, hereinpairs of rolls 14' and I6 arranged to tension the web transversely as by being disposed obliquely to the selvages 18, th ends of the rolls being rounded or tapered as shown at 20, 22 so that there shall be no square edge to interfere with the lateral pull of the web. The mounting of the rolls will now be described, reference being had to Figs. 4 and 5. The roll turn freely on appropriate anti-friction bearings on and about fixed shafts 24 and 26 rigidly secured as by setscrews 28 and 30 in bosses 32 and 34 presented by a carrier 36 to which there is secured a stud." freely swivelled in a bearing to turn about an axis extending parallel with and between the axes of the rolls which are spaced apart a suificient distance to prevent them from nipping the ing of the roll-carrying head is utilized to take.

fabric, i. e., to prevent mutual pressure of the rolls on opposite surfaces, respectively, of the web. The stud 38 is suitably maintained in its bearing 40 as by a collar 42 secured to the stud as by. a set-screw M.

J It will now be observed by reference to Figs. 2 and-3 that the roll of one pair are disposed at diifere nt points lengthwise of the travel of the web, i. e., they are in serial arrangement considered with reference to the general direction of travel of the web which thus engages first one and then another roll. The swivelled mountup lengthwise slack in the web and to maintain proper longitudinal tension as by yielding means such as aweight 46 (see Figs. 6 and 8) suit-ably proper course to oppose a frictional resistance.

to longitudinal travel of that edge as by a brake operating on one of the rolls adjacent to that edge, said means including a detector cooperating with such edge and arranged to initiate the operation of such brake, and preferably the brake is self-energizing, i. e., as soon asit is partially applied, continued rotation of the roll is utilized to cause increased application of the brake. This type of brake is preferred because it'has great power as well as rapidity of action, so that the roll can be stopped promptly and with the expenditure of very slight extraneous power.

In thepresent example, the upper roll (see Fig. 7) is provided with a brake drum 50 cooperating with an appropriate shoesuch as a,fiex ible band 52 wrapped about the drum, one end of the band being adjustably anchored as'by being provided with a hook 54 attached to a screw 56 passing loosely through a fixed lug 58 and adjustably secured as by nuts 60 and 62 on opposite sides; respectively, of'the nut. Any appropriate means, electrical, mechanical, or fluid, may be providedto initiate the operation of the brake by exerting a pull on the otherend of the band 52.

Two such arrangements are shown, one electrical and the other mechanical; The electrical arrangement will nowbe described, reference being had at first to Fig. 8. The remaining end of the band 52. is operated by an appropriate electro-magnet such as a solenoid 64 having therein a longitudinally movable core BBsuitably attached as by a fastener 68'to the free end of the brake band 52. When, therefore, the solenoid is energized'by current supplied from a suitable source,. the energization'of the solenoid causes its core to exert a pull on the brake band, thus to initiate. a snubbing action of the band about the drum so that continued rotation of the latter will increase the snubbing action and will apply the. brake with increasing force. The power is so great that but little current is required to operate the solenoid to'initiate the operation of the brake.

The circuit to the solenoid is closed and opened by anxappropriate switch 70 (see Figs. 4 and 5), the one chosen in the present example being thesubject matter of U. S. patent to Philip Kenneth McGall No. 1,960,020, a commercially available and commonly used switch made by Micro Switch Corporation of Freeport, Illinois. It is deemed unnecessary-to describe, this switch in detail and it will suffice to say that it is provided with a plunger 12 urged outwardly by an internal spring and actuated by an external leaf spring M. The switch and the solenoid are -mounted within an appropriate housing 16 suitably mounted on the roll carrier 36. In Fig. 4 the upper roll is omitted in order to show the underlying partsto better advantage.

Returning now 'to the leaf spring 14 which operates the plunger 12. of the switch 70,. this spring is actuated by. an appropriate detector cooperating with the adjacent'selvage of the web, a for example a feeler in the nature of a lever 18 fulcrumed at on the housing 16 and having a cam 82 resting upon the leaf spring 14. The lever has a finger 84 arranged to contact with the adjacent edge of the web, and when the latter moves laterally toward the finger, the latter swings on its fulcrum and actuates the switch to close the circuit and energize the solenoid which initiates the operation of the brake and thus stops the longitudinal motion of that edge of the web and corrects the lateral positioning of the latter. Lateral correction at the other edge occurs in like manner. The free end of the finger 84 plays to and fro in an opening 86 of a port 88 mounted on. the swivelled roll carrier 36.

The purely mechanical arrangement is illustrated in Figs. 9, 10 and 11 which difiers from the described electrical arrangement in the particulars now to be described, reference being had at first to Fig. 10 which shows the free end of the brake-band wrapped about and secured to a spool 90 which turns on and about a rod 92 on which the spool is held against axial displacement as by collars 94 secured to therod. The rod is mounted ona pivot 96 thereby to permit the spool to move toward and from the lower roll. The free end of the rod is provided With a fork 98 (see Fig. 11) to embrace the adjacent selvage of the web. When'the selvage is in its proper normal position, the rod is unaffected by the longitudinal travels of the selvage, but if the selvage shifts laterally a. sufficient distance to engage both converging walls of the fork, the'rod will be dragged along by the selvage until the spool, or as herein shown, the brake band about the drum engages the periphery of the lower roll. Thereupon, the rotation of the lower roll causes rotation of the spool and a consequent pull on the brake band, thus initiating the operation of the brake onthe upper roll. The rod is retracted by a suitably arranged spring I00 to a stop I 02. In other respects, the operation of this purely mechanical form is like that of the electrically initiated form.

Having thus described two forms of vention, what I claim and desire to secure is:

In a web guiding and stretching machine, the combination of at least two web-driven rolls, one adjacent each selvage, said rolls being arranged to tension the web transversely, and means to utilize deviation of an edge of the web transversely from its proper course to oppose a resistance to longitudinal travel of that edge.

2. In a web guiding and stretching machine, the combination of at least two web-driven rolls, one adjacent each selvage, said rolls being arranged totension the Web transversely, and means to utilize deviation of'an edge of the web transversely from its proper course to oppose a resistance to web-driven rotation of a roll adjacent to that edge.

3. In a web guiding and stretching machine, the combination of at least two web-driven rolls, oneadjacent each selvage, said rolls being arranged to tension the web transversely, and mean; to utilize deviation of an edge of the web transversely from its proper course to oppose a frictiona'l resistance to web-driven rotation of a roll adjacent to that edge.

4. In a web guiding and stretching machine, the combination of at least two web-driven rolls, one adjacent each selvage, said rolls being ar ranged to tension thev web transversely, and means by Letters Patents the into utilize deviation of an edge of the web transversely of its proper course to oppose a frictional resistance to web-driven rotation of a, roll adjacent to that edge, said means including detectors cooperating with therespective edges, and brakes whose operation is initiated by said detectors, re spectively.

roll and then the other, and means to move said rolls about a common center in a direction to 5. In a web guiding and stretching machine,

the combination of pairs of web-driven rolls, one pair adjacent each selvage, the rolls of each pair being spaced apart a sufiicient distance to prevent, mutual pressure of such rolls on opposite surfaces,

respectively, of the web, means to cause the rolls the combination of web-driven rolls, and means for causing resistance of a roll at one selvage or the other to rotation of such roll by the web, said means including devices cooperating with the respective edges of the web to cause the application of such resistance in accordance with deviation of the edges from their proper positions.

8. In a web guidingand stretching machine, the combination of web-driven rolls, brakes associated with said rolls, respectively, and selvage-.

with said brakes, reto apply its associated engaging feelers associated spectively, and each serving brake when such feeler is moved by the adjacent edge of the web.

9.. In a web guiding and stretching machine, the combination of web-engaging and web-driven rolls, self-energizing brakes associated with said rolls, respectively, and selvage-engaging feelers associated with said brakes, respectively, and each serving to initiate application of its associated brake.

10. Ina web guiding a the combination of web-driven rolls, brakes associated with said rolls, respectively, and selvageengaging feelers associated with said brakes, respectively, and each serving to initiate application of its associated brake, each brake having means to utilize continued rotation of its associated roll to cause increased application of such brake.

11. In a web-guiding and stretching machine, the combination of a plurality of web-engaging rolls in serial arrangement considered with reference to the general direction of travel of the web which thus engages first one and then another roll, and means yieldingly to urge alternate rolls d stretching machine,

increase the arc of contact of the web with said rolls, thereby to takeup longitudinal slack in the web. i

13. In a web guiding and stretching machine, the combination of two web-engaging rolls in serial arrangement considered with reference to the travel of the web which thus engages first one roll and, then the other, and means to move said rolls about a common center in a direction to increase the arc of contact of .the web with said rolls, thereby to take up longitudinal slack. in the Web, said means including a roll support mounted to turn about an axis extending lengthwise of the axes of said rolls.

14. In aweb guiding and stretching machine,

the combination of two web-engaging rolls in serial arrangement considered with reference to the travel of the web which thus engages first one roll and then the other, and means to move said rolls about acommon center, thereby to take up longitudinal slack in the web, said means including a roll support mounted to turn about an axis extending lengthwise of the axes of said rolls, and

means tending to turn said support about the first-named axis in a direction to cause a plane containing th axes of said rolls to decrease its angularity to that part of the path of the web which is between the rolls. 15. In a web-manipulating machine, the combination of a plurality of web-driven rolls disposed at different points lengthwise of the travel of the web, a support on which said rolls turn when their peripheries are engaged bythe respective faces of the web, and means tending to turn said support and to carry said rolls about a a common axis in a direction to increase the arc of contact of the web with said rolls thereby to tension the web longitudinally.

16. In a web guiding and stretching machine,

the combination of pairs of web-driven rolls,

one pair adjacent each selvage, means continuously to cause at least one roll ofeach pair to tension the web longitudinally, said pairs being mutually arranged to tension the web trans-l versely, and means to utilize deviation of an edge ofthe web transversely from its proper course to oppose a resistance to longitudinal travel of that edge.

17. In a web guiding and stretching machine,

' the combination of a plurality of web-engaging of the series in opposite directions, respectively, transversely of the path of the web in a direction to increase the arc of contact of the web with said rolls, thereby to tension the web longitudinally.

rolls in serial arrangement considered with reference to the general direction of travel of the web which thus engages first one and then another 'roll, and means yieldingly to urge at least one of said rolls transversely of the web in a direction to increase the arc of, contact, thereby to tension the web longitudinally.

18. In a web guiding and stretching machine, the combination of two web-engaging rolls in serial arrangement considered with reference to the travel of the web which thus engages first one roll and then the other, and means tending to move at least one of said, rolls about a center in a direction to increase the arc of contact, thereby to take up longitudinal slack in the web.

PERCY 000K. 

